A Summer Place Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

A Summer Place Blu-ray Movie Review

Love on the rocks.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 21, 2026

A forward-thinking melodrama aimed at two different generations, Delmer Daves' A Summer Place was one of many films produced in the late 1950s and early 1960s that helped to push America's view of sex through the boundaries of Hays Code suppression. We still had a long way to go, of course, but the film's frank views on marital infidelity, young love, and parental control likely appealed to audiences of all ages who were ready for its message, which was based on Sloan Wilson's then-recent novel but streamlined to have more of a glossy shine. The lush Technicolor cinematography by Harry Stradling (My Fair Lady, The Picture of Dorian Gray) gives the film's serene seaside atmosphere plenty of visual appeal, contrasting strongly with all that simmering drama building just below its surface.

As for the story, it's difficult to summarize A Summer Place due to potential spoilers (especially in its second half), so I'll keep things brief. Essentially, it tells the story of two three-person families intersecting in Pine Island, Maine: gruff alcoholic Bart Hunter (Arthur Kennedy), his put-upon wife wife Sylvia, and their teenage son Johnny (Troy Donahue) operate a resort that flourished in decades past but is now in serious disrepair with mounting debts owed. On the verge of closing up the inn for good, they get an unexpected summer-long reservation request from Ken Jorgenson (Richard Egan) with his wife Helen (Constance Ford) and teenage daughter Molly (Sandra Dee) in tow -- and by "in tow", I mean "aboard a yacht". The formerly poor Ken, who was in a relationship with Sylvia during their younger days, ended it due to their class differences. Now that the tables have turned, Bart quickly recognizes the Jorgensons' arrival as a power play... but with few options, they accept Ken's reservation which will net them thousands of dollars.

It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out what happens next. Both long-standing marriages are shown as being either dreadfully unhappy or painfully dull, but the decades-old flame between Sylvia and Ken is clearly still flickering. Meanwhile, the teenagers find their own connection, but both are cautious to various degrees because of their parents' different levels of strictness. (Ken, for example, is very lenient about his daughter's desire to "put herself out there", whereas Helen would rather keep her under lock and key with a bra, girdle, and no makeup.) Soon, the connections turn from "potential" into "literal" and, after their discovery by a night watchman, Ken's and Sylvia's exploits are reported to Helen, who would love nothing more than to catch him red-handed and seek alimony.

That's barely even the first half of A Summer Place, which unsurprisingly descends into thick melodrama as its slightly padded running time flows ever onward. I'd normally give this one a bump into four-star territory since I appreciate the mini-epic nature of its scope, a focused and intimate time capsule that follows several life-changing months for its small but memorable cast of characters -- my favorite kind of drama, normally. It also earns a few bonus points for decently solid (adult) performances and the potent level of its forward-thinking subject matter, not to mention that outstanding Technicolor cinematography by Harry Stradling and the truly terrific original score by prolific composer Max Steiner. However, it's very thin around the edges as far as character dynamics are concerned: each respective sad-sack spouse often comes off like a one-note villain, and Troy Donahue's role as Johnny doesn't give him all that much to work with. Nonetheless, A Summer Place remains an entertaining picture whose technical elements are supported well by Warner Archive's welcome Blu-ray edition, which replaces Warner Bros.' 2007 DVD with a great new restoration and lossless audio that breathes new life into A Summer Place's rich and almost intoxicating atmosphere.

A Summer Place Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative, Warner Archive's exclusive new 1080p transfer of A Summer Place proves to be as dazzling a restoration as expected. The film's seaside shooting locations provide plenty of visual appeal from the opening credits onwards, with impossibly blue skies and other bold primaries that pull most of the visual weight. Fine detail is exceptional, as are textures, black levels, density, and even shadow detail, with only the occasional unconvincing day-for-night scenes breaking the film's otherwise seamless spell. At least one field trip into the big city snaps us out of Pine Island's timeless backdrop and offers a great look at period-specific signage, vehicles, and other background details. Tight close-ups and extreme wide shots are equally impressive, and A Summer Place's solid sense of visual storytelling moves things along smoothly even when dialogue isn't provided. As usual, it's authored on a dual-layered disc and basically gets 50GB all to itself, meaning that A Summer Place runs at a high and supportive bit rate with no compression issues and a tangible amount of film grain from start to finish. Overall, this is a perfect effort indeed and Warner Archive's new restoration is basically worth the price of admission alone.

A Summer Place Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As usual, the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix isn't far behind and offers loads of sonic support, splitting A Summer Place's original mono audio into a two-channel track for wider playback while remaining 100% authentic to its source. Dialogue and background details -- including wind, water, and other seaside ambiance -- is delegated nicely and never fights for attention, while Max Steiner's original score also comes through cleanly and clearly with a dynamic range right in line with expectations for this era of filmmaking. As usual, no age related damage could be heard along the way, only trace amounts of hiss which are the result of no extraneous amounts of noise reduction applied.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

A Summer Place Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with tawdry poster-themed cover artwork and two era-specific extras.

• A Witch's Tangled Hare (6:24) - This enjoyable 1959 Looney Tunes short, directed by Abe Levitow and featuring Bugs Bunny and Witch Hazel, was last seen on Warner Bros.' recently back-in-print Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One Blu-ray set.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:10) - This appropriately long vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

A Summer Place Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Delmer Daves' A Summer Place is a forward-thinking melodrama made when the Hays Code's influence was beginning to crumble and audiences were ready for stories that didn't shy away from sex and other Puritanical no-nos. And while it's far from a grounded film, it's still a highly entertaining one that unsurprisingly scored with audiences back in 1959. Warner Archive's Blu-ray brings it back to life with a gorgeous new restoration and lossless audio that shows off the great Technicolor cinematography and Max Steiner's stunning original score. Recommended to the right crowd.